NEW Zealand was made to sweat by a gritty Iraq side before banking on a huge fourth quarter to take a 100-78 win in Group D action of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup on Tuesday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Tohi Smith-Milner, the man who torched Gilas Pilipinas in Auckland the last time out, led the big fourth quarter from the Tall Blacks as he fired 11 of his 13 points in the final 10 minutes where the Kiwis outscored the Iraqis, 37-17.
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The final score didn't give justice to the fight that the 92nd-ranked squad showed in that game, as they took a 43-42 lead at the half and was pretty much in a back-and-forth affair against the world No. 22 Tall Blacks.
But that was all the fight in them as Smith-Milner conspired with Flynn Cameron and Carlin Davison to finally put away the Iraqis.
Taylor Britt paced New Zealand with 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists while Mojave Jackson King was as good as advertised, finishing with 18 in the win. Davison added 14 while Cameron chipped in 10 for New Zealand who is looking to better on their bronze medal finish in the 2022 edition.
Ahmed Abdul-Allah led the way for Iraq with 19 points, going five-of-six from downtown. Naturalized player Demario Mayfield, however, struggled heavily with nine points on just 3-10 shooting.
New Zealand gears up for Gilas Pilipinas on Thursday, 11 PM, while Iraq tests Chinese Taipei on the same day, 9 PM.
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